WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) — The world will grow slightly less wheat in the upcoming crop year, but Canada’s production looks to rise modestly, the Canadian Wheat Board said on Friday in its first outlook of the year.
Global wheat production will slip nearly 2 percent to 677 million tonnes in 2012/13 from an estimated 688.8 million tonnes for the current marketing year, the CWB said at a farm conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Canada’s wheat production looks to edge up almost 2 percent to 25.7 million tonnes in 2012/13 from 25.261 in the current year.
The outlook for wheat is bearish amid global economic uncertainty and increased winter wheat plantings in most Northern Hemisphere countries, said Bruce Burnett, the CWB’s director of weather and market analysis.
“Global supplies are moving from tightness to surplus, especially for wheat,” Burnett said at the Crop Production Week conference. “Weather can change this quickly, but currently the winter wheat crops in the Northern Hemisphere are in good shape, with a couple of exceptions.”
Markets will closely watch winter wheat crops in the United States and Ukraine in the coming months, as crops in both countries have seen dry conditions, he said.
The Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly over Western Canada’s wheat and barley will end after the current 2011/12 year.
Source: Reuters
Posted by Haylie Shipp
